Herriman permits animal control to issue civil citations

Feb 23, 2017 02:28PM
● Published by Tori LaRue

Officer Michelle Jones, a Salt Lake County animal control officer who works in Herriman, said the most common animal violation is allowing dogs to roam without a leash in public parks. Jones and other animal control officers can now issue civil citations to violators instead of criminal citations. (Kelly Cannon/City Journals)

Herriman City residents may now receive a civil
citation for violations related to animal control. While this may sound like a
negative adoption, it may be better than the alternative.Before Feb. 8, animal control
officers, like Officer Michelle Jones, could only offer verbal warnings or
criminal citations to people who violated state or city law regarding pets.“For instance, if dogs were running
off leash in the parks, their owners can get a criminal citation, which, for me,
is a bit extreme in most cases,” Jones said to the Herriman City Council during
a work meeting on Jan. 25. “But a verbal warning alone may not always be the
most appropriate as well. I want to be efficient with performing my job here in
the city, and I want to make sure that I am not over-enforcing, but I don’t
want to under-enforce as well.”Jones asked for “an additional tool
in her toolbox” — the ability to offer a courtesy notice, notice of violation
or civil citation in lieu of a criminal citation. The violation notices would
allow animal control officers to track offenses and identify repeat offenders
without issuing fines. The civil citations would allow officers to issue fines
without linking the offense to a person’s criminal record.The Herriman City Council
unanimously approved the ordinance amendment at the Feb. 8 city council
meeting.“It makes such sense that I can’t
believe it was not already in force,” Councilwoman Nicole Martin said.Councilman Jared Henderson shared a
personal anecdote to illustrate his support. Nearly 10 years ago, animal
control officers issued Henderson a criminal citation when they assumed his
dogs caused havoc in a local neighborhood.“I run with my dogs, and they see
mine all of the time, so they thought that the culprit dogs were my dogs, and
they weren’t,” Henderson said. “I fought (the citation). I had a hearing right
here and won that fight, but it still shows up on my record. It says that it
was exonerated, and it’s somewhat inconsequential, but it still shows up on a
criminal background check.”Other city council members laughed
as he told the story, and agreed that the council made the right choice to pass
the ordinance to keep these kinds of citations civil matters.Although animal control officers may
now issue varying citations, Jones said her main focus to maintain order in the
community will still be education. When she runs into first-time offenders— depending
on the offense—she’ll likely teach them the proper way to obey the law and
issue a violation notice without a fine, she said.This notice will allow her to track
who has and has not had a chance to receive animal control education. When
repeat offenders continue their malpractices, she said she’ll start escalating
fines.“It’s a less-aggressive option to
get compliance with some of the issues,” she said. Jones mentioned two
common offenses by animal owners: letting dogs run loose in parks and
neglecting to license animals. For a full list of animal laws in Herriman City,
review the city code at, http://slco.org/animal-services/laws/